Addressing Turkey, PA role in Gaza, Rubio says Israel must be ‘comfortable’ with countries that send troops

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the involvement of Turkey and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza under the US-backed ceasefire plan remains undecided, and that Israel must be “comfortable” with the countries stationing troops in the territory.

Israel’s government has consistently rejected the idea of the PA playing a role in governing a postwar Gaza, while Israel’s relations with Turkey have collapsed during the war.

Asked in a press conference at the US Civil-Military Coordination Center whether Turkish troops would be deployed in the International Stabilization Force to be set up in the Strip, Rubio says, “We haven’t formed that force yet, so there’s still work going on.”

“Obviously, as you put together this force, it’ll have to be countries that Israel is comfortable with as well,” he continues, saying that “there are a lot of countries that are expressing interest right now,” adding he couldn’t specify them.

“I don’t want to get into anything on who’s being vetoed, who’s not being allowed. Obviously, every member of this force has to be someone who has capability and willingness, but also someone that everyone’s comfortable with, including Israel,” he says, addressing reports that Israel told the US that the presence of Turkish troops in Gaza would be a red line for Jerusalem.

Asked about the PA’s role in the postwar governance of the Strip, Rubio says, “We’ve expressed our concerns about the Palestinian Authority as it stands today, and certainly the need for reform as far as what role it’s going to play in the future of Gaza. That’s yet to be determined, if any role at all. We don’t know.”

Gaza’s future governance “is going to be something that has to be worked on collectively with Israel, with partner nation states. For it to work, everyone has to agree to it,” he says.

Rubio emphasizes that Gaza “cannot be a place that is governed by anyone who wants to use it as a launchpad for attacks against Israel. If it is, then there will be another war… There will never be peace as long as there’s an area or a territory that’s being used as a launchpad to threaten Israel’s security. Everyone understands that, and everyone who signed on to this deal understands that.”

Rubio also emphasizes that the remaining deceased hostages in Gaza “are going to be released.”

“That’s going to happen. If it doesn’t, then the deal got broken, but it’s going to happen,” he says.